Call us: Mon - Fri 8:30am - 7pm, Sat - Sun 9am - 5pm
Call local rate
Mon - Fri 8:30am - 7pm | Sat - Sun 9am - 5pm
Call local rate 0330 383 0319
Mon - Fri 8:30am - 7pm | Sat - Sun 9am - 5pm

Gay marriage: US Supreme Court strikes down Defense of Marriage Act

The US Supreme Court has struck down a law which denied federal benefits to same sex couples.

The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defined marriage as:

“…the legal union of a man and a woman as husband and wife, and a spouse is a husband or wife of the opposite sex.”

The definition meant that gay couples were excluded from various health, tax and financial benefits. These included insurance for government employees; social security payments following the death of the person’s partner and the right to jointly file tax returns.

But the Supreme Court has now ruled, by a 5-4 majority, that DOMA’s definition of marriage is unconstitutional.

In the court’s ruling, Justice Anthony Kennedy declared:

“DOMA writes inequality into the entire United States Code. Under DOMA, same-sex married couples have their lives burdened, by reason of government decree, in visible and public ways. DOMA’s principal effect is to identify a subset of state-sanctioned marriages and make them unequal.”

However, the court declined to rule on Proposition 8, an amendment to the California Constitution which forbade same sex marriage within the state and which was later declared unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court’s decision means such marriages can now resume in California.

The blog team at Stowe is a group of writers based across our family law offices who share their advice on the wellbeing and emotional aspects of divorce or separation from personal experience. As well as pieces from our family law solicitors, guest contributors also regularly contribute to share their knowledge.

Leave a comment

Help & advice categories

Subscribe
Close

Newsletter Sign Up

Sign up for advice on divorce and relationships from our lawyers, divorce coaches and relationship experts.

What type of information are you looking for? (Optional)


Read about how we use your data in our Privacy Policy. To opt out at any time, select ‘unsubscribe’ in any of our marketing communications, or email [email protected].

Privacy Policy
Close
Close